Young Eagerly Awaits Saturday's Sweet Relief

Saturday, ah, blessed Saturday. On that loveliest of all days, the 1985 season will be over forever as far as Young is concerned. He always will remember Saturday as The Day The Pain Went Away.

And on Tuesday, Young will be back in Greenwich, Conn., speaking to the graduating class from his high school. ''Boy, will I have some things to tell them about football, business and life,'' he said with perhaps his first chuckle of the year.

However, Young and the other survivors of the Los Angeles Express first must deal with Friday -- and the Orlando Renegades. It's the final game of the season for two clubs that have a combined record of 7-27.

Statistically, the Express and the Renegades have a lot in common. Each team has given up 183 more points than it has scored. Each is last in its conference.

But statistics lie. The Express and the Renegades are nothing alike. The Renegades, despite their 4-13 record, have a future to anticipate and a brief past that had some grand moments. The Express, at 3-14, have nothing and have had nothing but misery all season long.

''Nobody can know what it has been like,'' Young said Tuesday by telephone from Los Angeles after a longer conversation with his agent. ''Chaotic is the best word. I don't think any team has experienced anything like it.''

Young, in case you have forgotten, was the superhero quarterback from Brigham Young who signed what once was called a $40 million contract with the Express. That was two years ago. Before the start of this season, Young gave up that promised $40 million to settle for $6 million up front. It wasn't enough for what he has gone through.

The Express have played all season without an owner, without fans and without any purpose. If the mental cruelties were not enough, most of the players have been injured, too.

Young has played about half the season. His rushing stats are interesting, reading much like an accident report. He has rushed 53 times for 334 yards -- and has been sacked 50 times for a loss of 380 yards. And nobody bothered to count the times he has been carried from the field.

''The physical injuries were nothing compared to the rest,'' said Young, who has limped more than he has walked all year. ''It's having no sense of destiny that hurts.

''The worst part is to play, week after week, without commitment from anywhere. Other teams have commitment from ownership, from their league, from their fans, from the press. We have had nothing.''

The Express have no ownership. They have lived on financial handouts from the rest of the league.

The Express have no fans, or at least it had to seem that way when a few thousand were scattered among 90,000 seats in the LA Coliseum.

As for the league, it views the Express as an embarrassment. As for the LA media, it doesn't view the Express at all.

Still, it's over Friday. And where does this leave Steve Young, the battered and abused quarterback? His contract says he has two more seasons in the USFL -- but that probably was why Young spent much of Tuesday talking to his agent.

If Young gets out the USFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have his NFL rights. However, rumor has it that the LA Raiders will make an offer that the Bucs cannot refuse to get Young -- if he's available.

''Sure, I wouldn't mind playing with the Bucs or with the Raiders,'' Young said candidly. ''I wouldn't mind playing for any team that had an owner.''

An owner, fans, a healthy league, media appreciation. What a life. Well, Steve? Are you trying to tell us something?

''I don't know. I don't really know what next season holds. But the important thing is that this doesn't carry on.

''I have got to get some relief.''

Saturday, Steve, Saturday. Relief, at least until September 1986, is just 72 hours away.